New book points to solutions for civil case backlogs

18 July 2020 · Carmel Rickard

When the deputy chief justice of Namibia writes a book on court-managed civil procedure in that country’s high court, then judges in many countries should pay attention. That's because it is written by the judge who is widely regarded as the architect of Namibia's new and highly successful system, and he has made sure that his book will be informative and helpful for other countries wanting to follow the same path - towards judicial case management and a dramatic reduction in civil case backlogs.

Justice Petrus Damaseb’s new book details a judicial revolution: the change from the old, established system for managing civil procedure in Namibia, to a highly-efficient new order in which the ‘orthodox adversarial system’ has been transformed into one ‘where the pace of civil litigation has been removed from litigants and lawyers and placed in the hands of judges.’

It’s likely to appeal to all jurisdictions plagued by backlogs and delays in delivering civil justice, and that are open to considering ‘radical reforms’ to their existing systems. The author, Namibia's Deputy Chief Justice and one of the key architects of the new system, explains the new procedures, and why certain old-order rules were either thrown out or changed to achieve the goal of judicial case management.

As to who will benefit from studying his book, the editors say it will be of ‘enormous usefulness to practitioners, judges and students …, not only in Namibia but in common-law jurisdictions of especially Southern Africa. Who will find it useful? – because of the important lessons it offers for jurisdictions troubled by ‘delay in delivery of civil justice’, and that are seriously looking for ways to make thorough-going changes to their existing systems.

* The book costs R700; orders and more information

Carmel Rickard

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